How To Make A Good First Impression: In Interviews, Speeches And Pitches

If your idea of giving a presentation or pitch is clammy hands, shaking voice and rapidly losing your audience, you need a hand.

And there isn’t anyone in a better position than ‘pitch coach’ and 'real-life Don Draper' Mike Parker to offer that hand.

It’s pretty rare as a journalist to discover your interview subject has thoroughly researched you before picking up the phone. But Mike Parker is a man who likes to be prepared. And we could all take that advice to heart.

During his long career in advertising he became known as the ‘king of the pitch’ –and now in his 70s he still knows how to hold an audience of any size in the palm of his hand and perfectly deliver a line. And he wants to help you, you clammy handed, shaking speech-resistor.

In the current unstable financial climate with an increasingly competitive jobs market, first impressions have never been so important, so whether it’s an interview or public presentation you’re looking to ace, it’s time to learn how to show off your best side, concisely convey all your skills and get your message across in an intelligent yet attention grabbing manner.

Mike, who worked for Saatchi & Saatchi for 20 years, has now documented the secrets of his success and top tips for pitching in a pocket-sized new book, ‘It’s Not What You Say, It’s The Way You Say It’. He hopes it will provide ideas and inspiration for confident pitching, and help people to bring out the best in themselves.

Although whether any advice tome could ‘put the fun back into interviews’ could be up for debate!

Mad Men Days

As well as Mike’s advertising days he also competed for Britain as a hurdler at the Tokyo 1964 and Mexico 1968 Olympic Games so he certainly has experience of performing under pressure.

But his masterful pitching is what’s led to Mad Men comparisons.

“My career goes back almost to the era when Mad Men was initially set,” he tells us.

“My father was a farmer and wanted me to go into the same field, but I loathed it. I started with my first ad agency at the age of about 21 and got the taste for it. I even wore a trilby hat at that stage like Don!

“To be honest my wife was more like Don’s character though in the sense she worked in creative. I was the so-called client man like Roger Sterling, but we were the ones who actually took the creative department’s work and did the pitching.

“My first ever account was the Milky Bar Kid and it’s still going strong today.”

Pitch Coaching

But nowadays, Mike’s left advertising to concentrate on being a freelance pitch coach. Now he works with anyone from students looking to nail a university interview to people preparing to give a speech in front of the Royal family, as well as penning a popular blog.

“There are so many anecdotes from my ad pitching days,’ Mike recalls. ‘But I think the most fun and surprising one was after the Soviet Union broke up in 1989 which threw up all sorts of opportunities.
“One fascinating one that emerged was the chance to pitch to a grizzled army general who looking like something out of James Bond but was part of the then Soviet Space Agency.

“They were prepared to train a Briton and launch them into space and we were pitching for the chance to recruit that person. We got the job and the ad we came up with was the famous ‘Astronaut wanted, no experience necessary’ campaign.

“It worked brilliantly and 17,000 people replied with 300 interviewed. Three were selected to train.”

Eventually 27-year-old Helen Skelton from Sheffield became Britain’s first astronaut, blasted into orbit on May 18, 1991.

When it comes to pitching advice, Mike’s golden rule is that ‘confidence is key.’

“Having self-confidence allows you to be yourself and engage with people,” he explains. “Rehearsing and being prepared is a very important part of this.

“We’re always trying to impress others and show our best side in all areas of life when you think about it.

“The reason that interviews and public speeches can appear terrifying is due to the fear of the unknown, and that can be universal. I’ve often come across very senior executives who freeze in such a situation, but you have to create that sense of anticipation to be a good public speaker.

“In normal conversation most people come across as animated and engaging and the vast majority of us can bring out that side of ourselves and nail a good pitch.

“It’s the pressure that causes people to become a diminished version of themselves and to lose confidence."

So what are Mike’s top tips for creating the ‘perfect pitch’?
1. Use the ‘rule of three’ – “I didn’t invent this, but it’s where you group your arguments under three headings, like a play with three acts,” he says. “By limiting it to three headings you make the pitch easier for the audience.

“It gives you and them an agenda and they can then clearly understand where you’re coming from. People find it easier to take three things in so there’s a practical psychological approach to this.”

2. Conquer your opening – “This can be something as simple as: ‘Hello my name is and I’m so pleased to be here today.

“Make it easy and sincere and it will relax both you and the audience. Remember audiences are only hostile to politicians!”

3. Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse – Prepare yourself as much as you can, or in an interview scenario get someone to fire possible questions at you so in the real thing you’ll be able to answer in an ‘easy’ fashion.

4. Don’t obviously read from notes – “Don’t look down too much, look up at the start and end of sentences and make eye contact,” Mike advises.

5. Use signposts – “Keep things in your mind to keep you ‘on topic’, that way you’ll keep bringing your pitch back to its key message.”

6. Learn to pause – You do it in normal conversation, so don’t be afraid to collect your thoughts during a pitch. Taking a tiny breather could even boost your confidence. “When writing a speech factoring in pauses is very important,” Mike says. “In an interview don’t be afraid to pause if you’re asked something. The fact you do just shows you’re respecting the question.”

It's Not What You Say, It's The Way You Say It!

by Michael Parker is out now, £9.99, Vermilion publishing.

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